Terence Crawford to defend WBO belt against Ray Beltran on November 29

Phil Jay 10/08/2014

Lightweight world champion Terence Crawford will put his WBO title on the line against mandatory challenger Ray Beltran in the Omaha fighter’s second home defense in a row later this year.

According to Beltran’s manager Steven Feder, the mouth-watering 135lb battle is a done deal for November 29 and will take place at the CenturyLink Center in Nebraska.

“It’s done, the fight between Ray and Crawford is on,” Feder told World Boxing News, which means Beltran is handed the chance of redemption following his debatable draw against Ricky Burns last September.

Beltran seemed to have done enough in Glasgow to take Burns’ belt in a rough and ready match-up in which the Scot suffered a broken jaw, although to gasps from the crowd the champion kept his title.

Just six months later and following major facial surgery, Burns was ordered to face Crawford instead and the American took the title on points at the same venue in the Scottish Exhibition Centre.

Both Crawford and Beltran have recorded victories since fighting Burns, with the former defeating Yuriorkis Gamboa and the latter Arash Usmanee, with the pair now coming together for what looks to be a barnstorming contest on paper.